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TKTTSTEES

H-VRRT F. GTTGGEN-HErir. PKESIDE^iT

at.rt:rt E. THTELE. VTCE PRESIDEN^X

H. H. ^K>*'-iSO>r, VTCE PKESIDE^TT. ART ADMINT:STR_ATI 0>"

THE GOT7>"'rESS CkSXI^E STEWART

MRS. HAKRY F. GTrGGEiNTHEIM

A. CHAXTN'CE'S: >rE\VLI >-

ilKS. HTEN'R^: OBRE

MISS HiuLA rf:ba.y. director emerittts

I>A.>riEL CATTON" Rxcn

:>nCHAEL F. WETTACH

irEDLEX G. B. WilEU-LEY

CARL ZIGROSSER

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in 2011 with funding from

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Library and Archives

http://www.archive.org/details/janmller19221900mess

A(k\OWLEDGME\n

Generous assistance has been received from numerous institutions and individuals in the preparation oi this exhibition.

Special gratitude is extended to the joUoicing:

LEADERS OF \«'ORKS OF ART

Mr. and Mrs. William Ash, A eic York

Richard Brown Baker, _A eir York-

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Flavin, iN etc York

Willard Golovin, i\ eic York-

Mr. and Mrs. Kermit Lansner, -A eic York

Dr. Paul Lariviere, Montreal

Mr. and Mrs. Conrad J. Moss, Los Angeles

Mrs. Jan MUller, ?iew York

Horace Richter, It etc York

.41ma Schapiro, .A etc York

Mrs. Margaret Silberman, New York

Horace Richter Collection, The Mint Museum of Art, North Carolina

The .Museum of Modern .Art, New York

LEXDERS OF ( OLOR PL.\TES

Arts Magazine, New York

The Museum of Modem Art, Neic York

TIME Magazine, New York

The Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston has kindly made available the results of its previous research

and has undertaken to collaborate in Jan Mailer's first museum exhibition

by presenting a major portion of it in Boston from mid-March through .April 1962.

-Miss .4nne L. Jenks assisted in the planning of the exhibition and is responsible for the documentary section in the catalogue.

.Mrs. Jan MUller has given invaluable guidance throughout and supplied the written account of the artists life.

Richard Bellamy, in his capacity as Director of the Hansa Gallery, furnished important aid during the initial exhibition phase.

Robert Frank provided the photograph of Jan MUller.

Jan MuUer. January 1958.

JA> Ml'LLER-S LIFE BY DODY .MLLLER

Jan Miiller was born in Hamburg. Germany, on December 27, 1922. He died

on January 29. 19.58. in \ew lork City.

In 1924, when Jan was one and one-half years old. his parents. Heinrich and

Lisa, and his older sister Ruth, moved from Hamburg to Xiiremberg for ts\ o years, and

from there to Brandenburg, i\here Maren, his younger sister was born. In Brandenburg

he attended school, which he disliked. He showed no exceptional interest in painting,

although the family as a whole was artistic. But his feeling for life itself was intense and

fuU of force. To run. to be in the sun. in the woods, to play on box cars in railroad yards,

to be in street battles—all those strange games that are mysterious and forbidden to

adults—were the childhood of Jan Miiller.

Then, it was 1933.

Hitler came to power. Jan"s father was arrested. When friends had bribed his

release, it was obvious that the parents could no longer remain active against the Xazis

in Germany. At the end of 1933. Jan went with his family to Czechoslovakia and stayed

in Prague for five months. The sudden influx of political refugees was a new but not

unconunon phenomenon and the city was not able to cope with it.

From Prague, his father went to France and Jan went ^\ith the rest of the family

to Bex-Les-Bains in Switzerland. His mother took a teaching position at a boarding

school, Ecole Xouvelle La Pelouse. which Jan and his sisters attended. There, thirteen

vears old. Jan had the first attack of rheumatic fever.

In the summer of 1936. Jan. his mother and sisters went to .\msterdam. Two

vears later, in Julv 1938. he and his sister, Ruth, went to Paris. The second attack of

rheumatic fever came and the recovery was slow and only partial. Afterwards, he at-

tended school, he taught himself French and began to read a lot and to write poetry and

essays. In May 1940. he was interned as a German refugee and sent to a camp near Lyons.

Paris fell. In June 1940, France signed the Armistice with Germany. Jan was

released from camp, and with Ruth moved to Ornaisons, near Narbonne in the south

of France. Despite the difficulties and insecurities attending the journey, the south of

France made so profound an impression on Jan that he later recalled it in his painting

as radiant with light and beauty. The light of the south was to live in all his painting

and he loved France dearly.

In September of 1940, he went to Marseilles to try to obtain a visa to the United

States. However, as he was of draft age and still considered German, he could not get

an exit visa from France. Twice, he, Ruth and their father tried unsuccessfully to cross

the Spanish frontier. Finall)% in February 1941, at the third try, Jan and Ruth managed

to get into Spain and traveling through Barcelona and Madrid, reached Lisbon, Portu-

gal, where they joined their father. From there they left for the United States at six

month intervals. Jan left Lisbon in the middle of May and arrived in New \ork on June

3, 1941. Shortly thereafter, his mother and Maren were interned by the Nazis in Amster-

dam. The)^ were sent back to Germany where they were held until after the ^^•ar. In New

York, Jan began to teach himself English by spending hours reading in the public library.

For the first time he read a translation of Faust.

He settled immigration problems by going to Canada and re-entering the

United States on a regular quota. Then he went to a work farm in Ohio to return even-

tually to New York where he had j obs as a dishwasher, a day camp instructor, a laborer

in a ball-point pen factory and a film cutter. None of these were of interest to him except

as a means of livelihood. However, the experience of putting together the various frames

of films required in film cutting was later to influence his use of "close-ups"' and "long

shots" in the triptychs and hanging pieces. He was intrigued by the movies and would

spend much time there. The whole experience of paying for a ticket at the box office,

entering the black movie house, the movies themselves, the people inside, was of endless

fascination to him.

Jan's interest in politics continued for a while, but as his conviction in the moral

and ethical issues of our times began to express itself in his art, he withdrew from active

participation in political matters.

In 1945, at the end of the war, Jan's mother and his sister. Maren, came to the

United States. That same year he began to paint. First, he attended the Art Students

League for six months and then he went to study with Hans Hofmann from 1945 to 1950.

Although there were many arguments as a result of the widely diverse ideas that sep-

arated pupil from teacher, he always maintained deep respect, admiration and sincere

love for Hans Hofmann and for his work.

Out of that period came an exhibition called 813 BROADWAY, in which the

participants were Miles Forst. John Grillo, Lester Johnson. Felix Pasilis, Wolf Kahn

and Jan. It was during this time and until 1953 that Jan painted in a mosaic style. From

1954. his paintings became more figurative.

In a sense, the 813 BROADWAY exhibition contained the rudiments of the

Hansa Gallery which was to form on East 12th Street and which opened in the autumn

of 1952. \^ith Jan. such artists as Jean Follett. Barbara Forst, Miles Forst, Wolf Kahn,

Allan Kaprow, Felix Pasilis and Richard Stankiewicz were among the founders. For

the next six years. Jan was to have a show there each vear.

The summers of 1950, '51 and '52 were spent in Provincetown, Massachusetts,

but by no\\-, the damage done to his heart by the rheumatic fever and past deprivations

could no longer be allayed. At that time, Jan had a loft on Broadway across from Grace

Church. He then moved to Bond Street and in 1953 decided to undergo an operation

to replace the damaged valve with a plastic one. It was assumed that the operation, if

successful, would make him well. The operation took place in the spring of 1954. It

was not successful, although this was not certain at the time. Also, the valve was audible

which was most disconcerting to him. And yet. his major works were to be painted in

the four vears that remained to him.

In the smnmer of 1955. Jan returned to Provincetown. He began the series of

"path"' paintings. They are straight paths, circular paths, double and single, some

curved, some nearly blocked, but all leading to eternity and to the sun.

It was also in Provincetown. in 1956. that he married Dolores James. That

summer he painted OF THIS TIME-OF THAT PLACE, HAMLET AND HORATIO

and the WALPURGISNACHT-FAUST I. In the following autumn the couple moved

to 342 Bowery where Jan was to paint the second FAUST and in the subsequent spring.

THE TEMPTATION OF ST. ANTHONY Although the paintings became stronger

and his artistic convictions clearer, and although he was happier then, his health deteri-

orated further. In this year and in those that followed, he never suffered less than four

attacks each night.

The summer of 1957 was again spent in Provincetown. In spite of another

eight-week attack of rheumatic fever, Jan painted THE CONCERT OF ANGELS, THE

SEARCH FOR THE UNICORN and THE GREAT HANGING PIECE.

On December 30, 1957. he became a Lnited States citizen. His sixth exhibition

at the Hansa opened on January 6. 1958. Soon after, he was to begin the painting of

the reverse theme of Jacob's Ladder—of Hell and Conformity. It remained unfinished,

but it is all there, nevertheless. Jan did not fear physical death—but the horror in life,

the Hell of conformity and spiritual death. But the spirit of life, the spirit of freedom,

the freedom to search, and the faith—the faith beyond searching—are here in the witches,

the angels, the paths, and the Man on the Horse.

The Temptation of St. Anthony. 195 . . Lent by Mrs. Jan Miiller. New York.

JAX MILLER-S ART BY THOMAS M. ME5SER

The work of an artist of originality and power will alwavs ui\ite discussion,

stimulate ideas and engage our intellect. Before allowing the play of ideas to unfold,

there is. however, the \v ork itself to be seen and to be secured within ourselves.

The ^"iewer s reaction conies first: a sense of largeness and of monunientalitv

:

a sense of apparition and of mystery: a sense of amoralit\- and of purity: a sense, first

of life and ^dtalitx". and then of fatality and death.

Questions come thereafter: how did this painting evolve? from where did it

draw its strength? how does it relate to broader currents? what did it achieve?

The sequence of work is simple enough, brief as it is. spanning not more than

ten years. Eclectic beginnings are followed by cubist exercises from about 1948 to 19.50.

Miiller"s advanced apprenticeship in the abstract idiom is carried out in Hans Hofmann"s

workshop from 1950 to 1953. The decision to recreate subject matter through the use of

an abstract vocabulary and. thereby, to break ranks in the Hofmann school comes in

1953. Thereafter, graduallv. in various stages, we witness the assertion of his o\\"n mas-

tery. Jan MiiUer, having used his abstract schooling to reconstitute the object in his paint-

ing. no^\" forms the new figurations within a context of philosophy, religion, mythology,

and literature, without sacrificing to any of these the potent visual impact of his art.

In the process of this development, the initial stress upon geometric order is

abandoned in favor of free, organic form: his early concern \\ith the structuring of

the surface appears to give way to the exuberant demands of an expressive art: color,

at first an object of experimentation, comes into its owTi, fuUy and jubilanth". In other

words, the painter's strong romantic propensities, ha\'ing been tempered by a self-

imposed classic discipline, carry the day.

Jan Miiller"s painting is founded upon the unitv of subject matter with form. In

his mature period, the successful solution of formal problems is taken for granted and

subject matter becomes the conscious determinant of his art. It is the subject that tests

the successful development of his technical means and that is the measure of his inventive

capacity. Through the subject. Miiller evokes a spiritual dimension and a sense of the

universal. By the essential identity of subject matter and of the formal solution, Miiller's

art is decisively removed from the level of illustration and endo\\'ed with plastic sig-

nificance.

In his early, abstract phase. Miiller builds his canvases with pure form and

lets the non-objective order furnish the content and meaning of his art. Soon there-

after, forms begin to arrange themselves in a way that clearly announces the figurative

element in the making. Cautiously, almost as if engaging in forbidden games, Miiller

allows the recognizable motif to emerge from within the abstract pattern. First land-

scape, then flower still-life and the figure are the results—with landscape offering itself

as descriptive prose, still-life as lyric poetrv and the figure foreshadowing an epos that

is to become Miiller's crowning achievement.

For his late epic phase—the phase of thematic subject matter—nothing less is

required than the great texts of world literature: The Bible. Cervantes, Shakespeare,

and Goethe, and specificall\ . the heroic passages in Genesis. Don Quixote, Hamlet, and

Faust. Of these, the German poem provides the most potent literarv stimulus for Miiller's

contemporary vision..

Two of his monumental works are devoted to the Faust legend. Thev are niis-

leadingly entitled FAUST I and FALST II. for both paintings reflect the romantic

setting of the first part of the great dramatic poem. Miiller is inspired by the medieval

German scene and the cramped Gothic world. In works that derive from the Faust

theme, he paints Mephisto, the old German Teufel, with his witches and hexes who

appear fancifullv arrayed or stark-naked, showing a bare-faced grimace or wearing

a death-white mask, as they roam over the hills and dales of a bizarre landscape north

of the Alps—shrieking, gesturing, and otherwise indecorously preoccupied, in the tumul-

tuous orgv of a Walpurgisnacht. Demons and angels, heaven and hell, in their Goethian

interpenetration emanate from Miiller's central Faust subject and inhabit other works

Of Tins Time—Of That Place. 1956. Lent by ilrs. Jan MuUer. New York.

The Search for the Unicorn. 1957. Collection Lariviere, ^Montreal.

in which the mythological theme remains implicit. Such paintings as THE CONCERT

OF ANGELS, THE VIRGINS or THE ACCUSATION are indicative of the centrifugal

force which the imagery of Faust exerted throughout Miiller s subject matter. Finally,

unnamed, but ubiquitous are THE MOTHERS. Goethe's Miitter, this awesome and

awful archetype of life-bestowing, redeeming femininit}" which, in its angelic and ab-

stracted transformation, as DAS EWIG-WEIBLICHE. concludes the poem of Faust.

To establish Miiller s specific contribution, we might w ell ask ourselves what

he has done that others have not. To answer we must begin with Eugene Delacroix, per-

haps the last of the great 19th centurv masters with whom literature remained at the

source of painting. After Delacroix, in a main line that continues until the First \^orld

\^ ar. painting is exposed, in one sense, to a successive purification and. in another, to a

parallel impoverishment.

\^ith Courbet and Cezanne, painting freed itself from its literarv source and.

as the cliche goes, "ceased to be the hand-maiden of literature". The theme was aban-

doned in favor of the object. As Picasso and the cubists proceeded with their attenua-

tions, dissections and fragmentations, the object, in turn, was abandoned in favor of

form that is free from all but itself. The audacious steps taken by the pioneers of modern

painting led to the geometric solution of a Mondrian. Between the two wars, surrealism

and the art of fantasv. re-established contact with the object but did so in terms that

stood apart from the sequence here considered. Miiller's point of departure, therefore,

remained pure form—Mondrian's legacy. This he received from Hans Hofmann, his

teacher, who relayed it with such enrichments as the years, the expressionist tradition

and Hofmann's own vital artistry had given it.

^Tien, in the early 1950's, Miiller begins to question the sufficiencv of an

esthetic of pure form, the idiom of abstract expressionism had already revealed its

representational potential. The late Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. David

Park and Elmer Bischoff and possibly others had either approached, returned to or

skirted the borderline of the recognizable. \\ hen. therefore, Miiller moves toward rep-

resentation. he is neither first, nor is he alone. His decisive contribution must not be

sought in his neo-figurative participation, but in the re-integration of the figurative with

literature and nivthology.

By readopting literary subject matter and by realigning it with the formal exi-

gencies of contemporary art. Miiller re-emphasized an aspect of painting that had all

but disappeared in our time. To be sure, the religious theme appeared frequently in the

work of the earlier twentieth century- masters, and one thinks in particular of Emil Nolde

from whom Miiller inherited certain expressive devices. But in their thematic painting,

iXolde and other German Expressionists stayed, for the most part, within a territory

defined at one end by purely Biblical motifs and at the other by a religiously predicated

private myth. Miiller. on the other hand, appears to have reached past such recent pro-

totvpes for a romantic source. In this sense, he returns to the creative sphere of

Eugene Delacroix.

But questions remain : first, if the entire strength of modern inventiveness has

been marshalled to set painting free from presumably encumbering fetters, if every

effort has been bent toward the establishment of an artistic independence from literature

and from the object, whv then is the restitution of these components an asset rather than

a mere return to a discarded ideal? The answer must state that Miiller's work marks a

return only in one sense, and that a seeming backward motion is balanced by an onward

mov^ement which secures his placement with today s advanced guard.

Then, lastlv. if we admit his work in terms of original innovation, and in terms

of stylistic uniqueness, does this suffice? Is it enough in art. to have found something

new, to have done what others have not. to be leading, or to be alone? Again, one would

replv in a qualified negative and conclude that excellence, while often reaching toward

the unexplored, does not attach itself necessarilv to the new.

The substance of Miiller s painting cannot, therefore, be assessed in terms of

old or new but must be sought in the work itself. \\e find it in Jan Miiller's strong and

earnest art.

WOllkS W THE E\lillHTI()\

Works are listed, as nearly as possible, in chronological sequence.

SEATED .NUDE MODEL, c. 1950-51. Charcoal, 24% x 19".

Lent by Airs. Jan Miiller, New \ork.

SEATED NUDE MODEL—ABSTRACTION, c. 1950-51. Charcoal, 25 x 19".

Lent by Mrs. Jan Miiller. New York.

LINE.\R ABSTR.\CT10N OF MODEL, c. 1950-51. Charcoal. 25Vs x 19^4".


MOU"NTAINOUS ISL.\ND. c. 1951. Oil on cotton. 39's x 39%".

Collection WiUard Golovin. New York.

SELF PORTRAIT, c. 1952. Gouache. 23% x 18^4".

Lent by ilrs. Jan Miiller, New ^ork.

THE ROBE. c. 1952. Oil on cotton mounted on pressed wood, 74 x 77%".

Collection Air. and Mrs. Conrad J. Moss. Los Angeles.

CROSS MOSAIC. 1953. Oil on wood, 25% x 31%".

Lent by Mrs. Jan Miiller, New York.

SEATED FIGLIRES. 1953. Oil on canvas. 54 x 49%".

Horace Richter Collection- The Mint Museum of Art. Charlotte. North Carolina.

NUDES AT PRO^'ENCE. 1953. Oil on canvas, 48 x 36".

Horace Richter Collection, The Mint Museum of .\rt. Charlotte. North Carolina.

BIG NUDES. MOSAIC BACKGROUND. 1953. Oil on canvas. 55% x 89%".

Lent by Mrs. Jan Miiller. New \ark.

THE RIENZI L-4NDSC\PE. 1953. Oil on canvas. 30 x 61%".


BACCHANALE-.ADAM AND E\^. 1953. OU on canvas. 70 x 76".


THE HERALDIC GR0L:ND. 1953. OA on burlap, 14% x 40%".

Lent by Mrs. Jan Miiller, New Y'ork.

AFTERNOON OF SPRING. 1954. OU on canvas. 65% x 75".

Lent by !Mrs. Jan Miiller, New York.

WHITE NUDES IN L.\NDSCAPE. 1954. OU on wood. 8 x 15".


BACCHANALE AND PHANTO.M HORSE. 1954-55. Oil on canvas. 52 x 70".

Lent by Mrs. Jan Miiller. New ^ork.

SELF P0RTR.\1T. NO. 2. 1955. Oil on board. 25% x 19%".


BACCHANALE. 1955. Oil on canvas. Teî x Tl^s".

Horace Richter Collection. The Mint Museum of Art. Charlotte. Xorth Carolina.

LEAPFROG. 1955. Oil on canvas. 37^2 x 415s".

Horace Richter Collection. The Mint Museum o£ .Art. Charlotte. North Carolina.

GREEN GROVE. 1955. OU on canvas. 15^s x 18".

Collection Mr. and Mrs. Kemiit Lansner, New \ork.

SINGLE EQUESTRIAN'. 1955. Oil on board. 22% x IS^s".


THE GREAT TRIPTYCH. 1955. Oil on canvas. .59=S x IIS^^".

Lent by Mrs. Jan Miiller. New lork.

L.\NDSCAPE WITH HOUSES. PROVINCETOWN. 1955-56. Oil on wood. T^s x ll=s"

Private collection. New \ork.

DOUBLE CIRCULAR PATH. NO. 1. 1955-56. Oil on burlap. 38 x 42".


DOUBLE PATH OF DECISION. 1955-56. Oil on canvas. 49=s x 67iî".

Collection Mr. and Mrs. William Ash. New York.

SINGLE CIRCULAR PATH. 1955-56. Oil on canvas, 38 x 50".

Lent by Îrs. Jan Miiller, New York.

TRIUMPH IN THE SUN. 1956. On on paper mounted on canvas. 38 x 47"s".

Horace Richter Collection. The Mint Museum of Art. Charlotte. North Carolina.

OF THIS TLME-OF THAT PLACE. 1956. Oil on canvas. 49'.2 x 95%".


STUDY FOR OF THIS TIME—OF THAT PLACE. 1956. Oil on wood, 7 's x 9Ts".

Private collection. New York.

TRIPTYCH OF PROVENCE THEMES. 1956. Oil on wood, 12% x 32%".

Horace Richter Collection. The Mint Museum of Art. Charlotte, North Carolina.

WALPURGISNACHT—FAUST I. 1956. Oil on canvas. 68 x 119's".

Collection The Museum of Modern Art. New \ork.

FAUST PANELS. 1956. Oil on wood. 13% x 46%".

Collection Horace Richter, New York.

HAMLET AND HORATIO. NO. 1. 1956. Oil on canvas, 50^8 x 48's".

Collection Richard Brown Baker. New York.

AFTERNOON FLOWERS. 1956. Oil on canvasboard, 9T'8 x iVs".

Lent by Mrs. Jan ^liUler. New York.

FLO'S ERS OF PASSION. NO. 1. 1956. Oil on ph-wood. 9% x 4V2".


FLOWERS OF PASSION. NO. 2. 1956. Oil on plôod. 9% x Vi".


SEATED NUDE. 1956. Oil and tempera on pressed wood, 7^4 x 8°s".

Collection Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Flavin, New York.

ViALPURGISNACHT—FAUST 11. 1956. Oil on canva*. 82 x 120%".


ALL LIVING THINGS. 1957. Oil on canvas. 45 x 46".


THE TEMPTATION OF ST. ANTHONY. 1957. Oil on canvas. 80% x 121".


THE CONCERT OF ANGELS. 1957. Oil on canvas. 56=6 .x 148".


SIX PIECES—ABSTRACT MOSAIC. 1957. Oil on wood. 25=4" high.


DODY'S FACES. 1957. Oil on wood. 23" high.

Lent by Mrs. Jan Miiller. New \ork.

THE TRYSTING PLACE. NO. 1. 1957. Oil on canvas. 32 x 31^i".

Collection Mrs. Margaret Silberman. New ^ork.

THE GREAT HANGING PIECE. 1957. Oil on wood. 80=s" high.

Collection Horace Richter. New York.

THE SEARCH FOR THE UNICORN. 1957. Oil on canvas. 70is x 93i's".

Collection Lariviere. Montreal.

CONCERT TRIPTYCH. 1957. Oil on wood. 14=4 x 47".


LOST BALL SERIES; SEARCH FOR THE BALL. NO. 1. 1957. Oil on canvasboard. 9 x 12".

Lent by Mrs. Jan Miiller, New Y'ork.

LOST BALL SERIES: SEARCH FOR THE BALL. NO. 2. 1957. Oil on canvasboard, 9 x 12".

Lent by Mrs. Jan Miiller. New \ork.

LOST BALL SERIES: SEARCH FOR THE B.\LL, NO. 3. 1957. Oil on canvasboard. 9 x 12".

Collection Alma Schapiro. New York.

LOST BALL SERIES: PHANTOM RIDERS. 1957. Oil on canvasboard. 9 x 12".

Horace Richter Collection. The Mint Museum of Art. Charlotte. North Carolina.

LOST BALL SERIES: TWILIGHT COMES ON THE SEARCH. 1957. Oil on canvasboard. 9 x 12".


THE VIRGINS. 1957. Oil on canvas. 48 x 75%".

Lent by Mrs. Jan MiUler. New York.

VIRGINS—PASTEL. 1957. Pastel on board. 11% x 14H".

Lent by Mrs. Jan MiUler, New Y'ork.

COMMUNAL FLOWERS. 1957. Pastel on board. 9 x 8".

Lent by Mrs. Jan Miiller. Ne^s' York.

THE ACCUSATION. 1957. Oil on canvas. 48 x 50".


JACOB'S LADDER. 1958. Oil on canvas. 83% x 115".


The Robe. c. 1952. Collection Mr. and .Mrs. Conrad J. Moss. Los Angeles.

The Heraldic Ground. 1953. Lent by Mrs. Jan Miiller. New York.

Double Path of Decision. 1955-56. Collection Mr. and Mr*, \niliam Ash. New York.

Walpurgisnacht—Faust 11. 1956. Lent by Mrs. Jan MuUer, New York.

The Concert of Angels. 1957. Lent by Mrs. Jan Miiller, New York.

The Virains. 19Sii. Lent by Sklis. Jan MSlHer. N'ew York

Jacob's Ladder. 1958. Lent by Mrs. Jan MuUer. New York.

OXE-MAX EXHIBITiOXS

1953 March 16—April 2


1955 April 12—May 1

August 8-15

1956 February 6-22

July

1957 January 2-19

1958 January 6-25

1958-59 December 15—January 10

1960 September 12—October 20


Hansa Gallery, New York



The Sun Gallery, Provincetoun, Massachusetts

Hansa Gallery, Aezf York

The Sun Gallery, Provincetoun, Massachusetts

Hansa Gallery, Neiv York

Hansa Gallery, ^ew York

Hansa Gallery, Neiv York

The University Gallery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

Zabriskie Gallery, New York

PRIXCIPAL. GHOl'P EXHIRITIOXS

1951 813 Broadway

1951 Expansionists

1952 Group Exhibition of all Members

1955 Rising Talent

1956 Stable Show: 1956: Fifth Annual Exhibition of

Painting and Sculpture

1956 12 Painters

1957 Young America 1957

1957 The Neiv York School: second generation

1957 6th New York Artists' Annual Exhibition

1957 Society for Contemporary American Art

1957 The Fourth International Art Exhibition of Japan

1957

1957 Second Generation of the Neiv York School

1957 Painting and Sculpture Acquisitions

1957 1957 Annual Exhibition

1958 New Talent in the USA 1958

1958 Exhibition of Paintings: 11th Annual Creative

Art Program

1958 Festivals of Two Worlds

1958 The 1958 Pittsburgh Bicentennial International

Exhibition of Contemporary Painting and Sculpture

1959 An Exhibition of Contemporary Painting

1959 100 Works on Paper: I. United States

1959 New Images of Man

1960 The Horace Richter Collection: Contemporary

American Painting and Sculpture

1960 The Image Lost and Found

1960 The Figure in Contemporary American Painting

813 Broadway, New York

House of Duveen, New lork


The University Gallery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

Stable Gallery, New York

The Sun Gallery, Provincetown, Massachusetts

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York

The Jewish Museum, I^ew York

Stable Gallery, I\ew York

The Art Institute of Chicago

The Mainichi Newspapers, Tokyo; American section organized by the Department

of Circulating Exhibitions, The Museum of Modern Art, New York

The HCE Gallery, Provincetoun, Massachusetts

Felix Landau, Gallery, Los Angeles

The Museum of Modern Art, New York

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York

Circulating exhibition organized by The American Federation of Arts, New York

University of Colorado, Boulder

Spoleto, Italy

Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh

Exhibition sponsored by the Richmond Artists' Association, Richmond, J irginia

The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston

The Museum of Modern Art, New York

The Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, North Carolina

The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston

Circulating exhibition organized by the American Federation of Arts, New York

BIBLIOGRAPHY

EXHIBITION CATALOCrES

House of Duveen, New York. Expansionists, 1951, ill.

University Gallery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Rising Talent, 1955.

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. Young America 1957: Thirty American Painters and Sculptors under thirty-five,

1957. iU. 'Statement by the artist).

The Jewish iluseum. New \ork. The i\'ew York School: second generation, 1957, ill.

The Mainichi Newspapers, Tokyo. The Fourth International Art Exhibition oj Japan, 1957. ill. i American section organized by

the Department of Circulating Exhibitions. The Museum of Modem Art. New York).

Whitney ^luseum of American Art. New ^ork. 1957 Annual Exhibition : Sculpture • Paintings • Watercolors, 1957.

University of Colorado. Boulder. Exhibition oj Paintings: 11th Annual Creative Arts Program, 1958. iU.

Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh. The 1958 Pittsburgh Bicentennial International Exhibition of

Contemporary Painting and Sculpture, 1958, ill.

Hansa Gallery', New York. Jan Miller [1958].

The Museum of Modem Art, New York. New Images of Man, 1959, 4 iU. (Statements by the artist I.

The Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, North Carolina. The Horace Richter Collection: Contemporary Painting and Sculpture, 1960, 2 ill.

The Institute of Contemporary Art. Boston. The Image Lost and Found, 1960, ill.

Zabriskie Gallery, New York. Jan Miller: watercolors and gouaches: 1950-54, 1961, 2 ill.

PERIODICALS

"813 Broadway" (Christmas Shopping in New York Galleries i. The Art Digest, v. 26. December 15. 1951. p. 17.

J.F. "The Expansionists" (Fifty-Seventh Street in Review), The Art Digest, \. 26. January- 1. 1952. p. 20. 21.

F.P. "Jan Miiller" (News and Previews), Art News, v. 52, March 1953, p. 55.

D.A. "Jan Mimer" (57th Street). Art Digest, v. 27, April 1, 1953, p. 20, 24.

K.IX. "Sketches and Drawings" < Reviews and Previews t. Art News, v. 52. Januar\' 1954. p. 70.

NewhUL Al. "Abstraction in Three Stages," Art Digest, v. 28. March 15, 1954. p. 18.

F.P. "Jan MiUler" (Reviews and Previews), Art News, v. 53, April 1954, p. 47, 53.

M.S. "Jan Miiller" (Fortnight in Review), Arts Digest, v. 29, April 15, 1955, p. 20.

F.L. "Jan MiUler" (Reviews and Previews), Art News, v. 54, May 1955, p. 51, 56.

Hess. Thomas B. "U.S. Painting: Some Recent Directions," Art Netcs Annual, v. 25, 1956. p. 199.

L.C. "Jan Miiller" (Reviews and Previews J, Art News, v. 54, February 1956, p. 51, iU.

R.R. "Jan Miiller" (One-Man shows). Arts, v. 30, February 1956, p. 58.

La Farge, Henry A. "Art News of the Tfear," Art News Annual, v. 26, 1957, p. 180, iU.

Frankfurter, Alfred. "The Voyages of Dr. Caligari through time and space," Art News, v. 55, January- 1957, p. 31. 65, HI.

M.S. "Jan Miiller" ^In the Galleries), Arts, v. 31, January 1957, p. 51, HI.

Seckler. Dorothy Gees. "Americans with a Future," Art in America, v. 45. March 1957, p. 60. ill.

"The Younger Generation," Time, v. 69, March 11, 1957, p. 82, col. ill. (Statement by the artist).

Hess, Thomas B. "Younger Artists and the unforgivable crime." Art News, v. 56. April 1957. p. 49. 64, iU.

J-\. "Jan Miiller" ('Reviews and Previews i. Art News, v. 56. January 1958. p. 16. 17, iU.

AA. "Jan Miiller" I In the Galleries I. Arts, v. 32. Januar\' 1958. p. 53, ill.

.Ajnason. H. H. "New Talent in the L .S.."" Art in America, v. 46. Spring 1958, p. 16. 2 iU.

"This Summer in Spoleto," Art i\ eit;5, v. 57. June 1958. p. 41.

"Painting and Sculpture Acquisitions," The Museum oj Modern Art Bulletin, v. 25, no. 4. July 1958. p. 23. ill.

L.C. "Jan Miiller" i Reviews and Previews). Art News, v. 57. December 1958, p. 16, ill.

Sawin. Martica. "New \ork Letter." Art International, v. III. nos. 1-2, 1959. p. 45.

Sawin. Martica. "Jan Miiller: 1922-1958." Arts, v. 33. Februarv- 1959. pp. 38-45. 9 ill.

Lanes. Jerrold. "Brief Treatise on Surplus Value or. The Man \^ ho \^ asn't There." Arts, v. 34, November 1959. p. 30. 33, ill.

"New Images of Man." The Studio, v. 159, February 1960, p. 53. ill.

Rudikoff. Sonya. "Images in Painting," Arts, v. 34, June 1960, p. 41, 42, 45, ill.

L.C. "Jan Miiller" (7 shows for spring '61). Art News, v. 60, April 1961, p. 47, 60, ill,

L.S. "Jan Miiller" i In the Galleries), Arts, v. 35. .A.pril 1961, p. 51. iU.

Fussiner, Howard. "The Use of Subject Matter in Recent Art." The Art Journal, v. 20. Spring 1961. p. 134, 137, ill.

-\5ht0n. Dnre. "Jan Miiller" 1 New York Notes 1. Art International, v. V. no. 4. May 1. 1961. p. 81. ill.

REPRODl rTIO>"S

Mountainous Island, c. 1951

House of Duveen, Neiv York. Expansionists (exhibition catalogue ) , 1951.

Portrait of a Man, c. 1952

-Arts, v. 35, April 1961, p. 51.

Zabriskie Gallery, Neic York. Jan Miiller: watercolors and gouaches: 1950-54 (exhibition catalogue), 1961, no. 8.

Art International, v. V, no. 4, May 1, 1961, p. 81.

Three Quarter Head of a Girl, c. 1952

Hansa Gallery, Neic York. Recent Paintings: Jan Miiller (exhibition notice) [1954~\, detail. Art News, v. 60, .ipril 1961, p. 47.

Zabriskie Gallery, New iork. Jan Miiller: watercolors and gouaches: 1950-54 (exhibition catalogue), 1961, no. 11.

Bacchanale—.4dam and Eve, 1953

The Jewish Museum, ]\ew York. The New York School: second generation, 1957, no. 36.

The Heraldic Ground, 1953

Arts, V. 33, February 1959, p. 38.

The Museum of Modern .Art, Neic York. New Images of Man, 1959, p. 106.

The Studio, v. 157, February 1960, p. 51.

Bacchanale and Phantom Horse, 1954-55

Art News, v. 54, February 1956, p. 51.

Bacchanale, 1955

.Art News Annual, v. 26, 1956, p. 177.

Hansa Gallery, New York. Paintings: Jan .Mailer (exhibition notice) [1956}

.

The .Mint Museum of .Art, Charlotte, North Carolina. The Horace Richter Collection : Contemporary Painting and

Sculpture [1960] , p. 11, no. 66.

Cthonic Bacchanale, 1955

Arts, V. 33, February 1959. p. 39.

Double Circular Path, 1955-56


Double Path of Decision, 1955-56

Art News, v. 56, April 1957, p. 46.

Of This Time—Of That Place, 1956

Art in America, v. 45, March 1957, p. 59.

Art Students League News, v. 10, March 1957, p. 3.

Time Magazine, v. 69, March 11, 1957, p. 83 (col).

Walpurgisnacht—Faust 1, 1956

Arts, V. 31, January 1957, p. 51.

Hansa Gallery, New York. Recent Paintings: .fan Miiller (exhibition notice) [1957].

The Museum of Modern Art Bulletin, v. 25, no. 4, 1958, p. 16.

Arts, V. 33, February 1959, p. 42, 43.

Hamlet and Horatio, No. 1, 1956

Arts, V. 34, November 1959, p. .33.

The Museum of Modern Art, Neiv York. New Images of Man, 1959, p. 110.

The Art Journal, v. 20, Spring 1961, p. 135.

Walpurgisnacht—Faust II, 1956

Art News, V. 55, January 1957, p. 28.

The Mainichi Newspapers, Tokyo. The Fourth International Art Exhibition of Japan, 1957 (American section organized by

the Department of Circulating Exhibitions, The Museum of Modern Art, Neiv York), n.p.

Art in America, v. 46, Spring 1958, p. 16.

Portrait of E. Bernald, 1956

Art in America, v. 46, Winter 1958-.59, p. 29 (col).

The Temptation of St. Anthony, 1957

Arts, V. 32, January 1958, p. 53.

The Museum of Modern Art, New York. New Images of Man, 1959, p. 109 (col).

The Concert of Angels, 1957

Art News, v. 56, January 1958, p. 16.

Concert Triptych, 1957


The Trysting Place, No. 2, 1957


The Great Hanging Piece, 1957

Hansa Gallery, New York. Paintings: Jan Miiller (exhibition notice), January 1958.

Art in America, v. 46, Spring 1958, p. 16.


The Museum of Modern Art, New York. New Images of Man, 1959, p. 108.

The Search for the Unicorn, 1957

Arts, V. 33, February 1959, p. 41 (col).

Arts Yearbook 3, 1959, p. 78 (col).

The Lost Ball, 1957

Art News, v. 57, December 1958, p. 16.

The Virgins, 1957

Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh. The 1958 Pittsburgh Bicentennial International Exhibition of

Contemporary Painting and Sculpture, 1958, pi. 4.

Les Girls, 1957

The Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, North Carolina. The Horace Richter Collection: Contemporary Painting and

Sculpture [1960], p. 11, no. 76.

The Accusation, 1957

University of Colorado, Boulder. Exhibition of Paintings: 11th Annual Creative Arts Program, 1958. n.p.

Arts, V. 34, June 1960, p. 45.

The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. The Image Lost and Found, 1960. p. 44.

Jacob's Ladder, 1958


STAFF Director

Administrative Assistant

Curator of Education

Assistant Curator

Public Relations

Membership

Registrar

Conservation

Photography

Thomas M. Messer

Sh eila More Ogden

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Head Guard

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Exhibition '62/1 January 11—February 25, 1962

2,000 copies of this catalogue, designed by Herbert Matter,

have been printed by Sterlip Press, Inc.

in January 1962

for the Trustees of The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation

on the occasion of the exhibition

''Jan Miiller: 1922—1958"

the sol4tmon r. museum avenue, neic york 28, · 2011. 5. 11. ·...

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